How to write a marketing action plan

While a finger in the air approach will work for some people, having a marketing action plan will allow you to:  

1. Make best use of your time – by having a plan, you can increase your productivity and become more efficient.  
2. Alleviate unnecessary stress - if you have your plan written down, this will allow you to understand what needs doing and when. For example, the use of simple online scheduling tools can help to make your marketing a breeze.  
3. Attract the clients that you really want by sending the right message and allow them to get to know your business and build your reputation.  
4. Understand how much your marketing might cost.   

It may take a little while to put together a marketing action plan, but by taking time out early on you will reap the benefits in the long-term. 

When structuring your action plan, preparation is key.  

You should first think about the following questions:  

• What is my product and/or service?   
• What is my USP? (Unique Selling Point)
• Who are my customers?  
• What is the best way to reach my potential customers?   
• What is the price of my product and/or service?  
• How will I promote my product and/or service?  

You may have already addressed these questions in your main business plan, so now is a great time to revisit it.   

You should begin your marketing action plan by putting down the goals you hope to achieve through marketing and the method you will use for achieving them.   

You can use the SMART method to ensure your goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-based.   

• Specific – Make sure that your goal is completely clear by defining where you want to go with it.    
• Measurable – Include precise costs, dates, stock amounts and so on to assist in measuring how successful you are. For example, if you define your goal as "To sell more stock", how will you know when you have been successful? Document what you want to achieve and how you will measure it. 
• Achievable – Make sure the goals that you set are achievable. If it's too far out of reach, you will dispirit yourself and reduce self-confidence. Try to make sure they're challenging, but manageable and feel free to raise or lower the bar each time you come to resetting your goals. 
• Relevant – Check that your goals are relevant and aligned to your business and your lifestyle to ensure you benefit from an enjoyable work/home balance.   
• Time-Based – Set yourself some achievable time-based objectives. For example, set yourself a couple of hours to schedule some online social media posts and feel free to increase or reduce the time you allocate as your posts become easier to schedule or less intricate to design.  

The next part of your marketing action plan is identifying your customers and figuring out the best ways to market to them.  

Ask yourself, who are your customers, what’s their lifestyle like, how old are they and do they earn enough to buy your products?   

By creating a customer profile (customer persona), you can target specific groups using a variety of marketing tactics, eg social media, advertising, and email campaigns.  

If you already have a customer that has bought from you repeatedly, can you consider loyalty schemes or money-off vouchers to target these people and their friends and family?  

Moreover, have you got the potential to target a particular group to encourage growth within your business? If so, check in with them more frequently.   

Once you’ve got your customer personas in your action plan, you’re ready to think about what you can do personally to ensure your marketing is timely and targeted, reaching the right people at the right time.  

Consider doing a secondary SWOT analysis, but this time focused on marketing. You can read our SWOT analysis guide here.

Also, think about resources you have access to, your budget, the size of your team (if you have one) and your current skillset.  

You should also think about what your competitors are doing to reach their customers through marketing. Compare your products and services to theirs and highlight what they are doing well and how you can do it better.  

There are many ways that you can reach your customers via marketing. Some are paid for, some are free, so you will need to consider your budget as part of the process.  

Some methods may be more suitable for marketing your products and services than others, so consider which are best and focus your efforts accordingly.    

The most common marketing options include:  

• Social media – Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, TikTok  
• Advertising – leaflets, newspaper ads, business directories  
• Email marketing  
• Events/exhibitions  
• Gaining sponsorship  
• Online marketing – pay-per-click advertising 
• Search engine optimisation (SEO)  
• Content marketing – blogs, vlogs  

Analyse the advantage and disadvantage of each method asking how much does it cost, is it within your skillset to deliver, or do you need to take time to learn or even outsource?  

Once you have chosen your preferred methods, ensure that the message you are putting out about your brand is clear and consistent across all channels.   

If you feel like you will be busy from the outset, try one method (or maybe even one social media channel) at a time to ensure you can meet demand.   

Also, set aside time to schedule social media posts, pull together email campaigns and make enquiries to potential suitable sponsors.